Both are juniors, and both will remain overseas for the summer academic term before returning to Notre Dame in the fall.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with support from the Institute of International Education, the Gilman Scholarship enables undergraduate students of limited financial means to study or intern aboard as a way to experience diverse languages and cultures.

Scholars receive as much as $5,000, with additional funding available for the study of critical languages, including Russian, Arabic, Persian, Japanese, Korean, Punjabi, Turkish, Urdu or Japanese.

In most cases, the program supports students who might not otherwise study abroad, including first-generation college students, ethnic minority students, students with disabilities and students from community colleges or historically black colleges and universities.

Chung and Smith are among nearly 1,000 Gilman Scholars from 386 colleges and universities this academic year, including fellow Notre Dame junior Eunice Agyapong, a biological sciences major from Columbus, Ohio, who is studying in London this semester.

Like Chung and Smith, Agyapong applied for the scholarship with help from Notre Dame International and the Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement, or CUSE, which promotes the intellectual development of Notre Dame undergraduates through scholarly engagement, research, creative endeavors and the pursuit of fellowships.

The Gilman Scholarship is named for the late Benjamin Gilman, a longtime congressman from Minnesota who retired in 2002 after 30 years of service in the U.S. House of Representatives, including seven years as chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Of the study abroad experience, Gilman said, “Living and learning in a vastly different environment of another nation not only exposes our students to alternate views, but also adds an enriching social and cultural experience. It also provides our students with the opportunity to return home with a deeper understanding of their place in the world, encouraging them to be a contributor, rather than a spectator in the international community.”